The Summer Summit is the Wisconsin public education advocacy event of the year: an opportunity like no other to connect with and learn from other supporters of public schools. From parents and grassroots organizers to academics and administrators, the Summit showcases the expertise and experience that all of our statewide partners bring to the important work we do in supporting our students and their public schools.
Click here to register and learn more
Here is the link to our program: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxHr6KXdn27kR2p1X3Q4X3NVMjg/view?usp=sharing
Please help us extend this invitation to all who need to be part of these conversations. Share this post with administrators, board members, parents, and community leaders who support strong local schools, and invite your entire team to join us. You’ll want to split up and take in as many sessions as you can! You can also share this link directly: https://summer_summit.eventbri
Just added to the schedule! A plenary session with lawmakers to answer your questions about the budget, state level politics, and more!
Public Matters: A Conversation with Representatives Joel Kitchens and Chris Taylor, moderated by Marquette University Law School’s Alan Borsuk
Public support for public schools remains high in Wisconsin. Thanks in large part to the advocacy efforts of people around the state, it’s now politically popular for both Democrats and Republicans to support restoring K-12 funding to help schools meet the needs of students. And yet…we’re bearing witness to an ongoing budget standoff, there’s talk of schools footing an even larger portion of the bill for vouchers, and the partisan divide seems as wide as ever. Marquette University Law School’s Alan Borsuk, who writes a regular education column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, sits down with Wisconsin State Assembly Representatives Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) and Chris Taylor (D-Madison) to find out what’s really going on at the Capitol, and where we might find some common ground.
Schedule at-a-glance:
8-9 REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST
9:00 Opening and welcome – Dr. Tony Evers, Superintendent Pam Streich, and members of our host team, Citizen Advocates for Public Education, and morning keynote
10-11:15 MORNING BREAKOUT SESSION (a)
11:15-12:15 LUNCH
12:15-1:15 GO PUBLIC! PLENARY
1:30-2:45 AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSION (b)
3:00 – 5:00 pm Wisconsin premiere of feature-length documentary, “Backpack Full of Cash,” narrated by Matt Damon. Followed by discussion with Sarah Mondale (producer and director) and Vera Aronow (producer).
5:30 (or immediately following Summit) DINNER (optional) at Tyranena Brewing Co.
BREAKOUTS (Subject to changes and additions)
10:00-11:15 Morning Breakout Session (a)
1a- School Funding 101: Get the Facts
Tom McCarthy, Communications Director; Jeff Pertl, Senior Policy Advisor, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
2a- Make it Local: How to Create Positive Connections to Support Public Schools Where You Live.
Carol Lenz, Fox Cities Advocates for Public Education; Shawn Rolland, Support Our Schools SOS-Wauwatosa and Wauwatosa School Board President; Gail Halmstad, Project 13, Eau Claire; Ann Muenster, Fox Cities Advocates for Public Education (moderator)
3a-Following the Money: The State of School Privitization
Dustin Bielke, Center for Media and Democracy and WEAC Region 6 Director
4a-The Cost of Caring: Avoiding activism fatigue.
Jenni Hofschulte, Parents for Public Schools-Milwaukee and Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.
5a-Rural and Urban Connections.
Kim Kaukl, Executive Director, Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance; Ingrid Walker-Henry, Milwaukee Teachers Education Association; Tony Chambers, Edgewood College.
6a- Workshop
7a- The Status Quo and the Common Good: Why Equity and Adequacy Matter.
Bill Phillis, Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding; Todd Price, National Louis University
8a- Washington to Wisconsin How federal funding impacts our students and schools.
Joanne Juhnke, Wisconsin Family Ties; Angie Mattes, Wisconsin PTA.
9a- Local Level Action: Getting Organized from Referenda to the Rest of It.
Jim Bowman, Appleton School Board and Fox Cities Advocates for Public Education; Cynthia Ficenec, YES for Fort Schools; and Stacy Racine Lynch, Support Our Schools SOS-Wauwatosa
10a- Wisconsin’s Teacher Exodus: What is the crisis and what can we do about it?
David DeGuire, Director of Teacher Education, Professional Development, and Licensing, DPI; Peter Goff, Professor Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, UW-Madison; Ronald Duff Martin, President, WEAC; Tim Slekar, Dean, School of Education, Edgewood College; Moderator/discussant; Julie Underwood, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and Law, UW-Madison.
11a- Culturally Relevant Advocacy: best practices for making sure every voice is at the table and every voice is heard.
Laura Love, Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District
12a- Tales from the Heart and Confessions from the Field: Lessons learned from local experience with vouchers, privatization and the politicization of public education.
Earl Ingraham, Milwaukee radio host; Dennis McBride, Support Our Schools SOS-Wauwatosa; Melissa Prochaska, Watertown CAPS.
1:30-2:45 Afternoon Breakout Session (b)
1b- School Funding 101: Get the Facts
Tom McCarthy, Communications Director; and Jeff Pertl, Senior Policy Advisor, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
2b- Make it Local: Showing Your Community How State Level Funding Impacts Local Children.
Blaise Paul, Director of Business Services, South Milwaukee School District; and Doug Perry, South Milwaukee School Board
3b- Connecting the Dots: School Privatization from Milwaukee, to Wisconsin, to Betsy Devos.
Barbara J. Minor, journalist and author.
4b- Drop-In Roundtable: Going Public Beyond the Budget
Chris Hambuch-Boyle, board president, Eau Claire Area School District; Nan Brien. GRUMPS (Grandparents United for Madison Public Schools)
5b- Rural and Urban Connections.
Kim Kaukl, Executive Director, Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance; Ingrid Walker-Henry, Milwaukee Teachers Education Association; Tony Chambers, Edgewood College.
6b- Workshop
7b- The Status Quo and the Common Good: Why Equity and Adequacy Matter.
Bill Phillis, Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding; Todd Price, National Louis University
8b- What’s New with State Legislation: The good, the bad, and the budget.
Chris Thiel, Legislative Policy Manager, Milwaukee Public Schools
9b- 21st Century Advocacy: best practices and tips for using social media to organize, mobilize and more
Joe Brusky, Milwaukee Teachers Education Association; Joe Donovan, SOS-Wauwatosa; Aileen Smith, SOS-Wauwatosa
10b- Community/Schools: Rethinking “Engagement”
Ryan Hurley, Director, Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership; Ruth Anne Landsverk, Family Engagment Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction; Mary Ellen Havel-Lang, Sun Prairie Youth & Families Commission and Sun Prairie Community Schools.
11b- Student Perspectives: What we need to know about bias in our schools
Student Voice Union representatives, Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District; Ellen Lindgren, Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools and CAPE Middleton, moderator.
12b- Strategies for Building Coalitions
John Forester, School Administrators Alliance; Pam Streich, Superintendent, Lake Mills Area School District; Diane Wilcenski, Wisconsin Retired Educators Association (WREA); Gina Pagel, Wauankee educator and member of Support Sun Prairie Schools and Sun Prairie Action Resource Coalition (SPARC)
3:00 – 5:00 pm Featured Presentation: “Backpack Full of Cash” narrated by Matt Damon, followed by conversation with Sarah Mondale and Vera Aronow. Moderator: Barbara Miner
